1.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule

2.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam

3.
Syriac Orthodox Church
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The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, or Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean. Employing the Divine Liturgy of Saint James with Syriac as its official and liturgical language, the church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria. The Syriac Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodoxy, a full communion of churches since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Around 825, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, however, another part of clergy gained permission from the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul to reestablish the Syriac Orthodox Church soon after. The churchs present circa 5 million members are divided in 26 archdioceses and its original area is present-day Syria, Turkey, or Iraq. The churchs Levantine ethno-religious identity has been a matter of controversy since the 20th century, many refer to these as ethnic Syriacs or Assyrians, while other advocate the term Arameans. The Syriac Orthodox Church participates in discussions, being a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960. Due mainly to persecution throughout the centuries, a diaspora has spread from the Levant throughout the world, notably in Sweden, Germany, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, and Australia. The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status as the most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Saint Luke, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter. 70 and 130, were out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. When Saint Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius presided over the Patriarchate of Antioch, because of the significance attributed to Saint Ignatius in the Syriac Orthodox Church, almost all of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs since 1293 have been named Ignatius. Until 498, this church accepted the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. The church also maintained a smaller church under a Catholicos, known by the title Maphryono. The Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon in 451 resulted in a struggle for the Patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the Council. In 518, Patriarch Severus of Antioch was exiled from the city of Antioch, on account of many historical upheavals and consequent hardships which the church had to undergo, the Patriarchate was transferred to different monasteries in Mesopotamia for centuries. In about 1160 its seat was transferred from Antioch to the Mor Hananyo Monastery, in southeastern Turkey near Mardin and they reestablished themselves in Homs, Syria due to an adverse political situation in Turkey. In 1959 it was transferred to Damascus, where it currently resides

4.
Cathedral
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A cathedral is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The counterpart term for such a church in German is Dom from Latin domus ecclesiae or domus episcopalis, also Italian Duomo, Dutch Domkerk, when the church at which an archbishop or metropolitan presides is specifically intended, the term kathedrikos naos is used. In addition, both the Catholic Church and Orthodox churches have formed new dioceses within formerly Protestant lands for converts, consequently, it is not uncommon to find Christians in a single city being served by three or more cathedrals of differing denominations. In the Catholic tradition, the term cathedral correctly applies only to a church houses the seat of the bishop of a diocese. The abbey church of a territorial abbacy serves the same function, the Catholic Church also uses the following terms. A pro-cathedral is a parish or other church used temporarily as a cathedral, usually while the cathedral of a diocese is under construction, renovation and this designation applies only as long as the temporary use continues. A co-cathedral is a cathedral in a diocese that has two sees. A proto-cathedral is the cathedral of a transferred see. The cathedral church of a bishop is called the metropolitan cathedral. The term cathedral actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building, nevertheless, most cathedrals are particularly impressive edifices. The building is now under renovation and restoration for solemn dedication under the title Christ Cathedral in 2018, in the ancient world the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or rhetor and thus symbolises the bishops role as teacher. A raised throne within a hall was also definitive for a Late Antique presiding magistrate. The history of cathedrals starts in the year 313, when the emperor Constantine the Great personally adopted Christianity, in the third century, the phrase ascending the platform, ad pulpitum venire, becomes the standard term for Christian ordination. During the siege of Dura Europos in 256, a complete Christian house church, or domus ecclesiae was entombed in a bank, surviving when excavated. Otherwise the large room had no decoration or distinctive features at all, in 269, soon after Dura fell to the Persian army, a body of clerics assembled a charge sheet against the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, in the form of an open letter. Characteristically a Roman magistrate presided from a throne in a large, richly decorated and aisled rectangular hall called a basilica. The earliest of these new basilican cathedrals of which remains are still visible is below the Cathedral of Aquileia on the northern tip of the Adriatic sea. The three halls create a courtyard, in which was originally located a separate baptistery

5.
Dioceses of the Syriac Orthodox Church
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By the seventeenth century only 20 dioceses remained, reduced in the twentieth century to 10. The seat of Syrian Orthodox Patriarch was at Mardin before the First World War, and thereafter in Deir Zaʿfaran, Mosul, from 1932 in Homs, and finally from 1959 in Damascus. When the Syrian Orthodox movement began in the century, the Christian world was organised into five patriarchates, Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria. The Syrian Orthodox movement was confined to the eastern provinces of the Roman empire, in the territory of the patriarchates of Antioch. The West Syrians envisaged their church as the patriarchate of Antioch. Over a hundred West Syrian dioceses and around a thousand West Syrian bishops are attested between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, the main source for these dioceses and bishops are the lists of Michael the Syrian, compiled in the twelfth century. Many other dioceses and bishops are mentioned in literary sources, particularly the works of Bar Hebraeus. Several bishops not known either to Michael the Syrian or Bar Hebraeus are mentioned in the colophons of surviving West Syrian manuscripts, there was a West Syrian diocese for Damascus, first attested in the seventh century. The diocese persisted into the century and appears to have been one of the few West Syrian dioceses which continued undisturbed into the fifteenth century. Emesa and Palmyra also had West Syrian dioceses, there was an ephemeral Jacobite diocese for the coastal port of Laodicea in the ninth century, and an ephemeral Jacobite diocese for Sadad, a town between Damascus and Homs, in the twelfth century. There was also a West Syrian diocese for Heliopolis, attested between the seventh and eleventh centuries, and a diocese for Kfar Tab near Homs, attested in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. No record has survived of West Syrian bishops in the towns in Phoenicia Libanesia with known Chalcedonian dioceses. As far as the part of the Chalcedonian province of Euphratensis is concerned. Nine West Syrian dioceses are known to have existed at various periods before the century in northern Syria. It is unlikely any of these dioceses, with the possible exception of Aleppo. Although an almost unbroken succession of bishops of Aleppo is attested from the years of the sixteenth century onwards. It seems likely that the diocese of Aleppo lapsed after the death of its bishop Mikhail, attested in 1298, there were two stable Syrian Orthodox dioceses in Palestine between the eighth and twelfth centuries, one for the Golan region and the other for Jerusalem. The Syrian Orthodox bishops of Golan resided at Paneas, the city of Caesarea Philippi, during the seventh and eighth centuries

6.
Ignatius Aphrem II
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Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II is the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He became the 123rd Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch when he was enthroned as patriarch in Damascus on May 29,2014, before his election to the patriarchate, he was Archbishop for the Eastern United States of America, and known as Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim in that post. In that role, he established 11 new parishes, introduced a number of new programs for the youth, Saʿid Karim was born in Qamishli, north-eastern Syria, on May 3,1965, the youngest son of Issa and Khanema Karim. His family are Syriacs who originally came from the village Ëḥwo in the Tur Abdin region of Mardin Province, after finishing primary schooling in Qamishli in 1977, Karim received his religious secondary education at St. Ephrems Theological Seminary in Atchaneh, Bikfaya, Lebanon. After completing school in 1982, he worked in Aleppo, Syria, from 1984 to 1988, he attended the Coptic Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Divinity. In 1985, Saʿid Karim took the vows of a monk and he was ordained deacon, and, later that year, was elevated to the sacred priesthood. From 1988 to 1989, he served as both the secretary to his predecessor, Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, and as a teacher at St. Ephrem’s Theological Seminary in Damascus. In 1991, he entered St Patricks College in Maynooth, Ireland, from where he received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology and his doctoral thesis was titled The Symbolism of the Cross in early Syriac Christianity. During that time, he served as a priest to the Syriac Orthodox Community in the United Kingdom. Aphrem Karim was appointed archbishop of the Eastern United States territory, taking the episcopal name Cyril, he arrived in the United States on March 2,1996, and was officially installed at St. Mark’s Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey, as Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, during his time as Metropolitan Archbishop, Cyril Aphrem Karim oversaw the creation of 11 new parishes, bringing the total parishes in the archdiocese to 20. He created a council to aid in oversight and administration of the archdiocese. He organized a special youth liturgy in the New York/New Jersey area, Cyril Aphrem Karim oversaw the creation of the Archdiocesan Sunday School Committee to unite lesson plans across the archdiocese. He created a counseling program which afforded couples-to-be the chance to meet with him personally. He also established an annual service to recognize and appreciate the elderly members of the community. He worked for unity, serving on the World Council of Churches. Cyril Aphrem Karim played a significant role in founding Christian Churches Together, on March 21,2014, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas died after a long illness. Following his death, the Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch was convened to elect a successor, the synod elected Cyril Aphrem Karim to be the 122nd successor of St. Peter in the Apostolic See of Antioch

7.
Temple of Jupiter, Damascus
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The Temple of Jupiter in Damascus was built by the Romans, beginning during the rule of Augustus and completed during the rule of Constantius II. Damascus was the capital of the Aramaean state Aram-Damascus during the Iron Age, the Arameans of western Syria followed the cult of Hadad-Ramman, the god of thunderstorms and rain, and erected a temple dedicated to him at the site of the present-day Umayyad Mosque. It is not known exactly how the temple looked, but it is believed to have followed the traditional Semitic-Canaanite architectural form, resembling the Temple of Jerusalem. The site likely consisted of a courtyard, a small chamber for worship. One stone remains from the Aramaean temple, dated to the rule of King Hazael, the Temple of Hadad-Ramman continued to serve a central role in the city, and when the Romans conquered Damascus in 64 BCE they assimilated Hadad with their own god of thunder, Jupiter. Thus, they engaged in a project to reconfigure and expand the temple under the direction of Damascus-born architect Apollodorus, the symmetry and dimensions of the new Greco-Roman Temple of Jupiter impressed the local population. With the exception of the increased scale of the building, most of its original Semitic design was preserved. In the center of the courtyard stood the cella, an image of the god which followers would honor, there was one tower at each of courtyards four corners. The towers were used for rituals in line with ancient Semitic religious traditions where sacrifices were made on high places, the sheer size of the compound suggests that the religious hierarchy of the temple, sponsored by the Romans, wielded major influence in the citys affairs. The Roman temple, which became the center of the Imperial cult of Jupiter, was intended to serve as a response to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The inner court, or temenos is believed to have been completed soon after the end of Augustus reign in 14CE. This was surrounded by a court, or peribolos which included a market, and was built in stages as funds permitted. At this time the eastern gateway or propylaeum was first built and this main gateway was later expanded during the reign of Septimius Severus. By the 4th century CE, the temple was renowned for its size. It was separated from the city by two sets of walls, the first, wider wall spanned a wide area that included a market, and the second wall surrounded the actual sanctuary of Jupiter. It was the largest temple in Roman Syria, theodosius I converted the temple to a church dedicated to John the Baptist. After the Muslims took over Damascus in 635 CE, the church was shared for seventy years, richard Pococke published a plan of the temple compound in 1745 in his work A Description of the East and Some other Countries, Vol. II. In 1855 the Reverend Josias Porter published a plan showing 40 surviving columns or column fragments which still survived between houses in the area, in 1921 Wulzinger and Watzinger made a plan showing the peribolos to measure some 350m by 450m

8.
Citadel of Damascus
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The Citadel of Damascus is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, after the assassination of Atsiz bin Uvak, the project was finished by the Seljuq ruler Tutush I. The emirs of the subsequent Burid and Zengid dynasties carried out modifications, during this period, the citadel and the city were besieged several times by Crusader and Muslim armies. In 1174, the citadel was captured by Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Saladins brother Al-Adil rebuilt the citadel completely between 1203 and 1216 in response to the development of the counterweight trebuchet. After his death, power struggles broke out between the other Ayyubid princes and although Damascus switched hands several times, the citadel was taken by force only once, in 1239. The citadel remained in Ayyubid hands until the Mongols under their general Kitbuqa captured Damascus in 1260, after an unsuccessful revolt broke out in the citadel, the Mongols had most of it dismantled. After the defeat of the Mongols in 1260 by the Mamluks, except for brief periods in 1300 and 1401, when the Mongols conquered Damascus, the Mamluks controlled the citadel until 1516. In that year, Syria fell into the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Damascus surrendered without a fight and from the 17th century onward the citadel functioned as barracks for the Jannisaries—Ottoman infantry units. The citadel continued to serve as a barracks and prison until 1986, as of 2011, excavation and restoration efforts are still ongoing. The citadel is located in the northwest corner of the city walls, the citadel consists of a more or less rectangular curtain wall enclosing an area of 230 by 150 metres. The walls were protected by 14 massive towers, but today only 12 remain. The citadel has gates on its northern, western and eastern flanks, the current citadel dates primarily to the Ayyubid period while incorporating parts of the older Seljuq fortress. Extensive repairs in response to sieges and earthquakes were carried out in the Mamluk and it is uncertain whether a building stood on the site of the citadel before the 11th century AD. The area occupied by the citadel was most likely outside this first settlement. The presence of a citadel during the Hellenistic period is uncertain, Damascus certainly had a citadel during the Roman period, but whether it was located on the site of the present citadel is uncertain and subject to scholarly debate. In 1076, Damascus was conquered by the Turkman warlord Atsiz bin Uvak and he then tried to invade the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt but was defeated in 1077. The Fatimids subsequently built on their victory over Atsiz and besieged Damascus in 1077 and again in 1078, the siege of 1078 was eventually lifted by Tutush I, brother of the Seljuq sultan Malik Shah I, to whom Atsiz had appealed for help. After the Fatimid besiegers had left, Tutush I took over the city and, the construction of the citadel was finished under Tutush I

9.
Nur al-Din Bimaristan
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Nur al-Din Bimaristan is a large medieval bimaristan in Damascus, Syria. It is located in the quarter in the old walled city. It was built and named after the Zengid Sultan Nur ad-Din in 1154, the bimaristan is well known for its unusual portal, which displays an antique lintel and a curious flattened muqarnas vault. It is also unusual in its full-scale Mesopotamian-style muqarnas vault over the vestibule and it was restored in 1975 and now houses the Museum of Medicine and Science in the Arab World. The building is of the Iraqi type, in plan also, but other than that, the building is fully in the Damascene construction tradition, and in fact stones from the outer enclosure of the antique temple were reused in it

10.
Mausoleum of Saladin
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The Mausoleum of Saladin holds the resting place and grave of the medieval Muslim Ayyubid Sultan Saladin. It is adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria and it was built in 1196, three years after the death of Saladin. The mausoleum presently houses two sarcophagi, one made of wood, said to contain Saladins remains, and one made of marble, Syria & Lebanon Handbook, The Travel Guide. International dictionary of historic places, Middle East and Africa, Volume 4, Saladin, The Life, the Legend and the Islamic Empire

11.
Azm Palace
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Azm Palace is a palace in Damascus, Syria which was originally built in 1750 as a residence for the Ottoman governor of Damascus Asad Pasha al-Azm. The palace now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions, the architecture is an excellent example of Damascene traditional houses. The structure consists of buildings and two wings, the harem and the selamlik. The harem is the wing, which was a private space for the residents. This wing includes the kitchen, servant quarters, and the baths, the salamlik is the guest wing, and it comprises the formal halls, reception areas and large courtyards with traditional cascading fountains. Used in the building of this palace were several types of stones including limestone, sandstone, basalt, the ceilings have painted wooden panels that display natural scenes. In 1925 under the French Mandate, the Azm Palace which was damaged during the Syrian Revolution was restored. It became a museum of arts and folk traditions and it received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983. Ablaq Azm Palace Media related to Azem Palace at Wikimedia Commons

12.
Maktab Anbar
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Maktab Anbar is an old house in the center of Old Damascus near the Umayyad Mosque and a short distance from the Street Called Straight. The house was built as a residence by a local Jewish notable Mr. Anbar in the mid 19th century and was later confiscated by the Ottoman government after Mr. Anbar went bankrupt. He had made his fortune in the Far East, returned to Damascus many years later, the family story was that he had lent a lot of money to the Sultan of Turkey who refused to return the money. The family in desperation asked the Kaiser of Germany to intervene, the Sultan was so furious that he never returned the funds and Mr. Anbar then went into bankruptcy and lost the house. The family later was said to have emigrated to Alexandria in Egypt, the house is built around three courtyards, first the formal reception courtyard, behind this the attractive female courtyard, and finally the spartan servants courtyard. The main sections were completed at tremendous expense, and due to high costs Mr. Anbar abandoned the project In 1887, the house was restored by the Ministry of Culture in 1976. It now holds an exhibition hall, museum and craft workshops

13.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Damascus)
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Syrian soldiers killed during battle. It is visited every year by the President of Syria on Martyrs Day, the monument was designed by Prof. Dr. Abdo Kass-Hout and Prof. Mahmoud Hammad who won a competition organized by the Syrian Ministry of Defense. Erected in 1985, the monument features a dome, symbolizing the universe, two verses from the Quran are engraved into the structure, Think not of those who are slain in Gods Way as dead

14.
Al-Zahiriyah Library
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The Az-Zahiriyah library in Damascus, Syria dates back to 1277, taking its name from its founder Sultan Baibars. Building this library was his father’s idea but he died before he could achieve it, initially Az-Zahiriah was a public school in charge of teaching Quranic sciences. The decorations, carvings, and writing on the walls, in addition to the gate which bears geometric designs and patterns. It is located at Bab el Barid in the Al-Amara neighborhood, the mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque gave inspiration to the decoration of the main prayer hall where a band of lavish golden floral and architectural mosaics is running around. The manuscript department includes over 13,000 classical Islamic manuscripts, other notable manuscripits include Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir, al-Jam bayn al-gharibayn by Abu Ubaydah Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Harawi, and Gharib al-hadith by Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari. The library was recognized by the Syrian state in 1880. In 1919 the Arab Academy was charged with the supervision of the al-Zahiriyya Library, … Its collection consisted at that time of the surviving manuscripts from different small libraries in Syria. … The collection grew from 2,465 manuscripts to 22,000 volumes between 1919 and 1945, in 1949 a legal deposit law decreed that two copies of every work published in Syria be deposited in the library. The law was not enforced until July 1983, when a presidential decree required the deposit of 5 copies of work published by a Syrian author. In 1984 the Al-Assad Library became the Syrian national library, replacing al-Zahiriyah Library, Sultan Al-Zahir Baibars, also known as Rukn Uddin Baybrus was buried in Damascus in 1277 under the dome of the Az-Zahiriyah library, established by him. As of 2011, the librarys holdings included some 100,000 volumes,13,000 manuscripts, and 50,000 periodicals

15.
Nur al-Din Madrasa
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The Nur al-Din Madrasa is a funerary madrasa in Damascus, Syria. It is in the Suq al-Khayattin, inside the city walls and it was built in 1167 by Nūr ad-Dīn Zangī, atabeg of Syria, who is buried there. The complex includes a mosque, a madrasa, and the mausoleum of the founder and it was the first such complex to be built in Damascus. History of Medieval Arabic and Western European domes

16.
Aqsab Mosque
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The Aqsab Mosque is an Ayyubid-era mosque in Damascus, Syria. It is on Suq Sarujiyya outside the walls of the old city, arabic Islamic Architecture, Its Characteristics and Traces in Syria. Publications of the Ministry of Culture and National Leadership

17.
Darwish Pasha Mosque
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The Darwish Pasha Mosque is a 16th-century mosque in Damascus, Syria. The mosque was erected in 1574 by the Ottoman governor of Damascus Darwish Pasha, monuments of Syria, a Historical Guide

18.
Murad Pasha Mosque
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The Murad Pasha Mosque is an early Ottoman-era mosque and mausoleum in Damascus, Syria, located in the Suwayqa sector of the Al-Midan quarter. The mosque was erected and named after Murad Pasha, who served as the Ottoman governor of Damascus between 1568-1569, the mosque was built in 1568. The mosque is known as the Naqshbandi Mosque after the Naqshbandi sufi order which it served as a center for. The mosque is built in the style of Ottoman mosques, rather than the prevalent styles in Arab lands, the building is noted for its similarities with other Ottoman-era mosques in Damascus, including Tekkiye Mosque and the later Darwish Pasha Mosque. The walls of the mosque were built using alternating lines of black, the mosque is built around a large courtyard, which features an elaborate fountain that was used for ablution. The courtyard is surrounded by an arcade of domed cells, which were used as sleeping rooms by students, the structures walls are decorated with elaborate qashani tile panels. The interior rectangular prayer hall is roofed by a typical Ottoman-style lead-covered dome, the prominent hexagonal-shaped minaret is singled out as the only element built in the image of the minarets of the Arab lands. The mosque also holds in one of its corners the mausoleum where Murad Pasha was buried, the mosques main gate holds kufic inscriptions that mention the mosques construction date and its patrons name

19.
Sinan Pasha Mosque (Damascus)
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The Sinan Pasha Mosque is an early Ottoman-era mosque in Damascus, Syria, located along Suq Sinaniyya Street. The mosque was built in 1590 by Sinan Pasha, the Ottoman-appointed governor of Damascus from 1589 to 1593 and it stands on the site of an older mosque called the Mosque of Basal to the southwest of the walled city. The donor, Sinan Pasha, also served as the governor of Cairo and as the vizier to the sultan. The Sinan Pasha Mosque is built with a course of black. In addition to the mosque itself is a madrasa an ablution fountain, the circular, green-enameled brick minaret rises above the southern pier of the portal, carried on a circular stone base of black and white stone. Its single balcony is supported by three rows of muqarnas and is protected by a stone balustrade below wooden eaves. The minaret ends at a conical crown. The columns of the bay have a spiral molding. The arched entryway is flanked by marble panels and the two windows of the portico façade, as well as the two side entrances are topped by arches whose tympana display Damascene tiles. The mihrab niche to the right of the entrance is covered with a semi-dome that is supported on marble colonettes, the entire portico façade is built with alternating strips of yellow, white and gray stones. The mihrab is situated on the wall facing the entrance. Its niche is covered with mosaics and its semi-dome displays an intricate zigzag layering of black. Above its frame of tile and stone bands is a Quranic inscription, the ensemble is topped by two arched windows and a rosette made of stained glass. The minbar, to the left of the mihrab, is made of marble carved with motifs and inscriptions. The prayer hall is preceded by a courtyard, accessed through a tall portal on the western wall, once flanked by a bathhouse. The courtyard is entered from Suq al-Sakkaniyya Street to the north. The courtyard is rectangular and has an octagonal ablution basin at its center. Its floor is paved with colored stones arranged in a geometric layout, a two-bay iwan occupies the northwest corner of the courtyard that has two arched windows facing the street

20.
Tekkiye Mosque
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The Tekkiye Mosque or Sultan Selim Mosque is a mosque complex in Damascus, Syria, located on the banks of the Barada River. The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Selim II had the Sultan Selim Mosque built in the new city of Damascus by expanding his fathers urban complex, the mosque has two minarets and walls with alternating light and dark stripes. It has been described as The finest example in Damascus of Ottoman architecture, the cemetery next to the mosque is the burial place of the last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet VI, who was dethroned and went into exile when the Ottoman sultanate was abolished in 1922. He died on 16 May 1926 in Sanremo, Italy and was buried at the cemetery of the Sultan Selim Mosque and it was chosen for being in the closest Islamic country and a mosque of his great ancestors. There are almost thirty other graves of the Ottoman dynasty who died in exile and were not allowed to be buried in the Republic of Turkey at the time, dumper, Michael, Stanley, Bruce E. Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Cities of the Middle East and North Africa, A Historical Encyclopedia

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Umayyad Mosque
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The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. It is considered by some Muslims to be the fourth-holiest place in Islam, after the Arab conquest of Damascus in 634, the mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist, honored as a prophet by Christians and Muslims. A legend dating to the 6th century holds that the contains the head of John the Baptist. The mosque is believed by Muslims to be the place where Jesus will return at the End of Days. The mausoleum containing the tomb of Saladin stands in a garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque. The site is attested for as a place of worship since the Iron Age, one stone remains from the Aramaean temple, dated to the rule of King Hazael, and is currently on display in the National Museum of Damascus. The Temple of Hadad-Ramman continued to serve a role in the city. Thus, they engaged in a project to reconfigure and expand the temple under the direction of Damascus-born architect Apollodorus, the Roman temple, which later became the center of the Imperial cult of Jupiter, was intended to serve as a response to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The eastern gateway of the courtyard was expanded during the reign of Septimius Severus, by the 4th century CE, the temple was especially renowned for its size and beauty. It was separated from the city by two sets of walls, the first, wider wall spanned a wide area that included a market, and the second wall surrounded the actual sanctuary of Jupiter. It was the largest temple in Roman Syria, towards the end of the 4th century, in 391, the Temple of Jupiter was converted into a cathedral by the Christian emperor Theodosius I. During its transformation into a Christian cathedral it was not immediately dedicated to John the Baptist, this was a later association, legend had it that Saint Johns head was buried there. It served as the seat of the Bishop of Damascus, who ranked second within the Patriarchate of Antioch after the patriarch himself, Damascus was captured by Muslim Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid in 634. Decades later, the Islamic Caliphate came under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, the sixth Umayyad caliph, al-Walid I, commissioned the construction of a mosque on the site of the Byzantine cathedral in 706. Prior to this, the cathedral was still in use by the local Christians, al-Walid, who personally supervised the project, had most of the cathedral, including the musalla, demolished. The construction of the mosque completely altered the layout of the building, while the church had the main building located at the centre of the rectangular enclosure, the mosques prayer hall is placed against its south wall. The architect recycled the columns and arcades of the church, dismantling and repositioning them in the new structure, the new house of worship was meant to serve as a large congregational mosque for the citizens of Damascus and as a tribute to the city. In response to Christian protest at the move, al-Walid ordered all the other confiscated churches in the city to be returned to the Christians as compensation, the mosque was completed in 715, shortly after al-Walids death, by his successor, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik

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Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa

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Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus
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Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus is one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in Damascus, Syria and holds the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The church complex is located on the Street Called Straight, the church was built during the 2nd century AD. The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times in later years and it was described by Ibn Jubayr as, Inside the town there is a church which is very important to the Romans. It is known as the Church of Mary and its importance comes after the Church of Jerusalem. It is a building includes miraculous pictures which appeal to mind. It is in the hands of the Romans and nobody objects to them at it, in 1342, the Patriarchal See of Antioch was transferred from Antioch to Damascus and the church served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church in the East. The church was burned down by mobs, along with most of the Christian quarter, when the 1860 Druze-Christian conflict in Lebanon spilled into Damascus and it was last renovated in 1953. The Church of Mary is the church building, and dates back to the late 4th century. The chapel was added to the complex after the restoration of the cathedral in 1840 and it holds the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The chapel was added after restoration works and it holds a small museum dedicated to the history of the church

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Oriental Orthodoxy
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Oriental Orthodoxy has approximately 84 million adherents worldwide. Oriental Orthodox Churches uphold their own ancient ecclesiastic traditions of apostolic succession and these Churches rejected the definition of the two natures of Christ, known as the Chalcedonian Definition, which was issued by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Eastern Orthodox maintain numerous theological and ecclesiological similarities with the Oriental Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church, despite the similar name. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Great Church was based on differences in Christology, the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God, that is to say, consubstantial with the Father. Later, the ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being. Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism, the Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct beings, one divine and one human, who happened to inhabit the same body. The Churches that later became Oriental Orthodoxy were firmly anti-Nestorian, and those who opposed Chalcedon saw this as a concession to Nestorianism, or even as a conspiracy to convert the Church to Nestorianism by stealth. As a result, over the decades, they gradually separated from communion with the Great Church. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being Monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism, however, the Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as Miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, the schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom occurred in the 5th century. They would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures and it is not entirely clear that Nestorius himself was a Nestorian. The Oriental Orthodox churches were often called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this demand has been a matter of debate, Justinian I also attempted to bring those monks who still rejected the decision of the Council of Chalcedon into communion with the greater church. The exact time of event is unknown, but it is believed to have been between 535 and 548. St Abraham of Farshut was summoned to Constantinople and he chose to bring with him four monks, upon arrival, Justinian summoned them and informed them that they would either accept the decision of the Council or lose their positions. Abraham refused to entertain the idea, theodora tried to persuade Justinian to change his mind, seemingly to no avail. Abraham himself stated in a letter to his monks that he preferred to remain in exile rather than subscribe to a faith which he believed to be contrary to that of Athanasius of Alexandria